Alumni Profiles

Athena Theodorakis B.S. 1996, Chemical Engineering I joined Lord Corporation following graduation from Illinois, where I currently am product manager of our global aerospace and defense business for fixed wing aircraft markets. Over the last 15 years, I have held positions in product management in elastomer adhesives business, supply chain planning, operations management, manufacturing engineering, and product development.

Rebecca R. Milczarek B.S. 2004, Chemical Engineering; M.S. 2005, Food Science Becky Milczarek graduated from the University of California, Davis, in 2009, with a Ph.D. in Biological Systems Engineering. She is now a Research Agricultural Engineer with the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Albany, Calif.. Becky married fellow Illinois alumnus Charles Hansen (B.S. 2004, Engineering Physics) in May 2009.

John Kuzan B.S. 1981, Chemical Engineering at University of Notre Dame; M.S. 1983, Ph.D. 1986, Chemical Engineering at University of Illinois (focus on fluid mechanics) Kuzan is currently researchmanager for Reservoir Modeling with ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company. Kuzan has held a variety of positions within ExxonMobil that include leading one of the teams that developed ExxonMobil's next-generation reservoir simulator, the computational tool that simulates the flow of oil, water and natural gas in petroleum reservoirs and to the surface. He has also supervised experimental and computational sections at the research center. In the early 2000s, he spent several years developing and refining the approach to ExxonMobil's Breakthrough Research initiative. Kuzan then served as the transition manager for ExxonMobil's partnership with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's operating affiliate ZADCO, with responsibilities that included assisting with strategic directions for the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Institute and constructing the ExxonMobil Technology Center at Abu Dhabi.

Sherri L. Oliver-Noe B.S. 1984, Chemical Engineering Manager, Global Commissioning & Validation, Abbott Oliver-Noe lead the manufacturing start up for the relaunch of the Abbokinase product, heading the process engineering required for the $42 million renovation and dealing with compliance issues of the renovation. Oliver-Noe presently oversees the resource management needed for Abbott plants worldwide, ensuring that their needs are met for commissioning, validation, vessel design and weld inspection. She contributes to Abbott's overall production policy through her contributions to the ongoing development of their Global Engineering Assurance Strategy.

Sravan Pappu B.S. 2005, Chemical Engineering Process Design Engineer, BP Products North America, Inc. Upon graduation, Pappu joined BP at the Whiting Refinery in Indiana. While at the refinery, his projects have included environmental and optimization initiatives to help modernize the refinery. His latest project is the facility upgrade to enable the processing of heavy Canadian crude oils, a measure based upon better economic incentive and supply security. On the project he is a Design Engineer, working to produce viable petrochemical processes for future operation.

John Petrovski B.S. 1978, Chemical Engineering at University of Illinois; J.D.1983, University of Michigan President of PPK Capital, division of The Picerne Group After graduation, Petrovski joined Amoco (now BP) as a research chemical engineer and remained with the company for two years. Law school beckoned, and he received his J.D. from the University of Michigan in 1983, and practiced as a commercial real estate attorney for a few years. For the last 20 years he has been involved in the financial portion of the commercial real estate industry. Petrovski was most recently a managing firector for Merrill Lynch Capital Real Estate, overseeing 80 people and responsible for $5 billion in real estate loans and investments.